In the design of warheads, it is important to determine the fragmentation or spallation patterns behind the armor. Heretofore, witness plates have been employed to stop fragments and then the fragments were located by visual detection of the holes they produced in the face of the witness plate. The penetration depth of each fragment was measured with a mechanical probe. Finally, the fragments were "dug out" manually and weighed. This process was quite time-consuming and liable to errors, especially in the overlooking of small fragments.
The instant invention eliminates the activity where human error can occur. It locates the fragments and deduces their masses automatically.